Saints Men Defeat Texas College 6-1

TYLER, TEXAS (Sept. 21, 2023) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's soccer team defeated Texas College (TC) 6-1 in a Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) matchup this afternoon.

Head Coach Shane Hurley commented, "After some initial lackluster energy, we stepped up and brought an improved willingness to get forward on and off the ball. We had improved energy in transition that helped us create opportunities and regain possession quickly. We need to continue to build upon our positives as there's potential there. Coach Jesus Cortes and I are pleased with the energy the team grew into today."

History

The Saints are 11-2-1 against the Steers. Last season, the Saints defeated TC 4-0. 

Basics

The Bulldogs scored first at the fifth minute by Anas El.  After a TC shot, Samuel Villegas had his header go wide right, and Pape Gueye shot one that went high. Villegas scored on the next play at the 15^th minute unassisted. After one shot from the Steers that was saved by OLLU's Dominic Pena, Nikola Saltchev found the back of the net on assists from Louis Nicholson and Stan Driessen. Six minutes later, Stan Driessen scored on an assist from Nicholson to give the Saints the 3-1 lead. The game stayed that way through the end of the first half.

The Saints controlled the offense at the beginning of the second half with shots on goal from Adrian Maldonado and Matthew Banda. At the 56^th minute, Nicolas Murgas scored the Saints' fourth goal on an assist from Driessen. At the 60^th minute, Villegas scored his second goal and the Saints fifth on an assist from Saltchev. A little more than three minutes later, Villegas recorded a hat trick to give the Saints the 6-1 lead and win.

Scoring overview

5' – TC – Anas El

17' – OLLU – Samuel Villegas

23' – OLLU – Nikola Saltchev, assisted by Louis Nicholson and Stan Driessen

29' – OLLU – Stan Driessen, assisted by Louis Nicholson

56' – OLLU – Nicolas Murgas, assisted by Stan Driessen

60' – OLLU – Samuel Villegas, assisted by Nikola Saltchev

64' – OLLU – Samuel Villegas, assisted by Nicolas Saltchev

Inside the box score

The Saints recorded nine shots in the first half and 13 in the second; they had a total of 14 on goal. The Steers marked four shots in the first half and three in the second half; they had a total of four on goal.

OLLU recorded 9 corner kicks and the Steers had three.

Dominic Pena played close to 70 minutes on goal and had three saves. Alejandro Avila played the final 20 minutes of the game. TC's Emiliano Yanez played the whole game and recorded seven saves.

What's next

The Saints play next in Hawkins, Texas, against Jarvis Christian University at 3:30 p.m.